Congress Amethi Candidate On BJP's 'Peon' Remark: ‘Mai Naukri Nahi Kar Raha Gandhi Parivar Ki’

After the BJP portrayed KL Sharma as a 'peon' of the Gandhis on Sunday, He challenged that he would defeat Smriti Irani from the Amethi seat in phase 5 of the Lok Sabha election on May 20.

Following the BJP's remarks on KL Sharma, the Congress' Amethi candidate as a 'peon' of the Gandhis, he lashed out responding that he was a 'pure politician' and not a family servant. He further remarked that Union Minister Smriti Irani will lose her Amethi seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to news agency ANI on Sunday, the Congress leader outlined, "It was a decision taken by the party high command. Nobody had been finalised as a candidate for this seat earlier. However, I can say with full confidence and conviction that I will defeat Smriti Irani. This is a big statement I am making today. 'Mai koi Naukri nahi kar raha Gandhi Parivar ki' (I am not a servant of Gandhi family here). I am a seasoned politician and have been so for many years now. I came here in 1983 through my association with the Youth Congress. I am not on the payroll of the Congress. I am a pure politician."

In response to questions about the BJP's increased vote share in Amethi and Raebareli during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sharma said that the party has been successful in diverting public attention away from the "real" problems for the last ten years that they have been in power at the center.

"The BJP has weaponised the media (against the Opposition). Leaders and parties in the Opposition are not getting space to pursue and practice their politics. How many times has Rahul-ji been given space? People are questioning them (BJP) on what they have done in the last 10 years but they divert from the real issues and talk about mangalsutras. This election, to my mind, has echoes of 'India Shining' (a campaign by the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee going into the 2004 Lok Sabha elections)," he told ANI.

Highlighting the BJP for not fulfilling their guarantee made in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress leader said, "Look at their manifesto from 2014. PM Modi said that he will give pucca houses to everyone by 2022. The promise is yet to be fulfilled. Look at the Ujjwala scheme, they only quote numbers. But what about refilling those cylinders? The people are now starting to understand everything."

Raebareli BJP Candidate Says Rahul Gandhi 'Gave Lok Sabha Ticket To His Peon'

Earlier, Dinesh Pratap Singh, the BJP's candidate from Raebareli, made fun of Rahul by claiming that the Congressman had sent his peon to run against Smriti Irani in Amethi. "Does Rahul Gandhi really want to win Amethi and Raebareli? If he did, why would he give a Lok Sabha ticket to his peon from Amethi? The Congress will lose both Raebareli and Amethi seats," Singh said, ANI reported.

"He ran away from Amethi. For Smriti Irani, the people of Amethi are just like her family members. They hold the same place in her heart as her loved ones. Earlier, when the Gandhi family used to visit Amethi or Raebareli, the people were separated from them with ropes and they just passed them by, waving their hands," he also said.

Following weeks of discussions and speculation, the Congress declared on Friday that Rahul will represent the party from the Raebareli, the traditional stronghold of the Gandhi family, while KL Sharma will run for the Lok Sabha seat from Amethi.

Rahul Gandhi has represented the Amethi seat in Parliament since 2004 and served as the constituency's representative until 2019. His father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was also an elected member of Amethi in the Lower House from 1981 till his death in 1991. Sonia Gandhi contested elections from there in 1999 before passing it to Rahul Gandhi in 2004.